Thomson wants civil case put on hold

Lawyers for federal MP Craig Thomson say a civil penalty case against him should be postponed because it would "mingle the matters up" if it was heard at the same time as his criminal charges.

Fair Work Australia (FWA) will try to push ahead with the civil case, arguing there are matters in the lawsuit that are not part of the criminal matter.

FWA barrister Stephen Donaghue SC told the Federal Court sitting in Melbourne that a comparison of the cases showed matters including election expenditure were not included in the criminal charges, which included counts such as the alleged use of a credit card to hire escorts.

Mr Donaghue said the case should be split and matters not related to the criminal charges should still proceed.

"There are discrete parts of this proceeding that overlap almost precisely with the subject matter of the criminal charges," he said.

"There are other parts of this proceeding which we submit do not overlap at all with the criminal charges."

Mr Thomson's barrister Jim Pearce, who appeared via videolink from Sydney, told Justice Christopher Jessup the entire civil proceeding should be stayed until the criminal matter is concluded.

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Another Thomson lawyer, Chris McArdle, was asked by reporters outside the court why the legal team was arguing for a stay of the civil matters until the criminal case was completed.

"We think that would mingle the matters up," Mr McArdle said.

Justice Jessup adjourned the application to stay the case until April 18.

He also granted permission for the Health Services Union (HSU) to appear in the case in a limited role.

FWA alleges the former Labor MP misused union funds when he was the HSU national secretary between 2002 and 2007, using credit cards to spend thousands of dollars on personal expenses including prostitutes.

Thomson is also facing 154 criminal charges of fraud, alleged to have been committed while he was national secretary of the HSU.

He has vowed to fight the charges and will next appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court for a committal mention on May 22.

Outside court on Friday, Thomson's lawyer spoke of the toll the cases were taking on the MP from the NSW central coast.